Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Ladiesss and
gentlemennn. . . in this corner we haveMetal
Dollar Maniaaaa!In the opposing corner
we have Give Me My Greenbackkks!Now,
I draw your attention to the center of the ring for our featured match-up -- the Currency Optimization, Innovation and National
Savings (COINS) Act.

S.2049was introduced in January by Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Mike
Enzi (R-Wyo.). The senators’ bill is a
companion piece to House billH.R.2977 ,
the Currency Optimization, Innovation and National Savings (COINS) Act, introduced
in September by Republican Reps. David Schweikert (Ariz.) and Jeb
Hensarling (Texas). The bill calls for a
transition from the paper dollar to the dollar coin within four years; the
House bill now has 12 co-sponsors.

The paper dollar
became part of the U.S. currency during the Lincoln administration in the early
1860s.However, there has been a
long-running battle to replace the paper dollar with the dollar coin and the
movement has "gained fresh momentum." So much so, Crane & Co.,
the Massachusetts-based firm that provides the paper for the currency and Sicpa
Securink Corp., a Swiss-based in company that supplies ink for the paper
currency have stepped up their lobbying initiatives.

Proponents
of the initiative argue that replacing the paper dollar would be better for the
environment and save the taxpayer dollars – as much as $50 million a year.
Those opposing the elimination of the one-dollar bill suggest that the
environmental impact is not accurately portrayed, since the currency paper is
made from cotton and linen fibers.Moreover,
an October, 2011, poll from Lincoln Park Strategist found the Vast Majority of Americans Reject The Idea Of
Getting Rid Of The Dollar Bill And Moving To A Dollar Coin.

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

"Albert Einstein wrote famously that imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge, he said, was limited. "Imagination encircles the world."
...
“Knowledge is not about hiding, it is about openness,” Hebrew University President Menahem Ben-Sasson said at the launch of a new public website that archivists hope will soon provide easy access to all of Einstein’s personal and professional writings.

The archive, which is made of more than 80,000 documents spanning Einstein’s 76-year life, includes manuscripts of his scientific and nonscientific writings, his correspondence with scientific and nonscientific colleagues, and writings with friends and family." (See more at CNN.com here)

Monday, April 02, 2012

Want to find out what the United States was really like in 1940? The National Archives released 1940 Census data today. Fox News gives a snapshot of information available:

The Census Bureau paints the picture of a very different country --
sample professions in 1940 included frame spinners and rivet heaters.
In 1940, there were 5.1 million farmers. Today there are 613,000.

Several famous names are among those still alive today who were counted in 1940, including Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.

For a little context, the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred Dec. 7, 1941.

Sunday, April 01, 2012

If you are interested in locating journal articles in the field of medicine, nursing, dentistry, the health care system, medical law and policy, take a look at the Medline database. This database provides comprehensive full text articles for 1,470 journals as well as citations and abstracts. Coverage begin for all journals from 1949 with full text coverage from 1965.

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